Teh Pizza Lady

It might cost us another version and 3 other features, but I think maybe a slider in the world config to set the value to a multiplier between 0x and 2x with the default in the middle. This slider then controls how many monsters spawn during storms so that players can tweak it however they want. Personally, I see the need to sit around and wait for them to be over as a lack of preparation. If this offends you, please know that I mean zero offense towards anyone. I'm not judging you, just stating what I believe to be a fact as harsh as it sounds. An experienced player can prepare for the first storm. New players cannot. So if the new player is wholly unprepared, I can see an option to disable spawning in a radius around the player as a viable option either for an indispensable mod or just the base game itself as an option that players can enable if they so choose, but otherwise remains off by default to give the player the experience the devs want them to have -- which is, I believe, a harsh survival experience with a story to tell. Not everyone will enjoy it and I think they know this.

I'm sure they're the same thing, rot/rust beasts. The idea is that they come from the rust world, but other lore seems to suggest they were once human consumed by rot. We don't actually know what the rot does to people, only that once infected, they were sent away. But I've seen them called rotbeasts since early 2025 on these forums. I think you're the first I've seen calling them rustbeasts. Please feel free to share any lore tidbits you find either in the lore section of the forums or in my DMs.

oh yeah they could probably use a damage boost, a slight one, but they feel like they're in a pretty good place right now.

haha my same reaction. I was hoping that the spears would stay the same. But nerfed? hmm... no. Balanced is more like it because with spears, there was previously no reason to use a bow and arrow or a falx until you got to steel. No. Because quenching wasn't a thing before so actually I expect the new iron spears to become better and steel even more so. It feels reasonable. As @LadyWYT explained the health of numerous creatures was adjusted so that they still feel the same, but with the addition of quenching and tempering the new spears have a chance to go higher than was ever possible before. In addition, because the spear numbers were actually brought lower, other weapon types are gaining more relevance, primarily the falx and the bow/arrow. In fact, I appreciate the offering of choices now because before I felt shoehorned into only using the spear due to the hunter's melee penalties, but now, even with the longer windup, it feels better than it did before.

That's okay. The nature of these forums is that there can be three different conversations happening at once, and people jump in and out of them at will. Basically I was mostly agreeing with you, which I realize might be confusing because I haven't been doing that much in this thread. This. This right here. Anything could happen in the meantime, including adjustments to storms or a more thorough introduction to them from the first trader you meet. Hopefully the player meets a trader in time, because realistically there is no way they should know about a temporal storm before then. I remember my first temporal storm. I had no idea what was happening and it was a mess. I never forgot it though. Now I suit up, grab my best weapons and armor, and prepare to defend my home. Yes, even the inside of my home. The nature of what they are simply doesn't allow that yet. Currently they are a global phenomenon, which is explained in the first two story chapters. I mean... same. I hate seeing the little pop-up that a storm is coming because I know I have about 20 minutes to prepare for it: stop what I'm doing, batten down the hatches, and make sure I have bandages and that my weapons and armor aren't about to break. It's a disruption, and the way the story is going I believe we're eventually going to try to find a way to stop it. So for now, the storms stay. Not saying you have to keep them on, but you are missing a large part of what makes the game what it is. It would be like playing 7DTD without the Bloodmoon, Valheim without the raids, or Subnautica without the threat of the deep. It's environmental tension rather than just a scheduled attack mechanic. Even the spacing of the storms is somewhat randomized. But to the title of the thread: do I think they are a bad implementation? No. But I do think there is room for improvement. Of that much, the rest of you have convinced me. [EDIT]: Also welcome to the forums @xaade! I promise we're not always like this

I agree with this point in principle. If the player wishes to engage with normal gameplay mechanics and manages to find a way to avoid or mitigate a mechanic they don't particularly enjoy, that isn't a problem with the game. Solutions driven by need are part of what makes sandbox gameplay so interesting. That said, my earlier comments about how the mechanic currently functions and whether it creates meaningful gameplay rather than frustration still stand. There is a stark difference between players working around something and a mechanic actively encouraging unintended gameplay because the implementation needs improvement. That is to say, I still firmly believe that "dig a hole and hide" is a valid solution to the problem until the player is better experienced and/or prepared for the storm. And that said, I think your earlier comments about the on-ramp still hold merit and that perhaps the first trader you run into could tell you more about it and give you some advice ("either arm yourself or dig a hole to hide in as I have done" kind of thing), From the lore bits and stories we know outside of the game, the traders and villagers are very much affected by the temporal madness that is present in the world and the recent adjustments to the traders (from wagons to huts) seems to reflect this strongly. So while I may disagree with some of your conclusions, the general idea that players shouldn't be policed for how they choose to engage with or avoid a mechanic until they're ready is something I can definitely agree with. I'm glad to see our views aligning better on this. oh yeah a longer storm would definitely do it, especially since the heavier storms do tend to last longer, it feels.

I usually just pile it up in a room and see how many stacks I can get before someone comes along and decides boots are the new thing to buy and sell at the traders. And yes, my next build will have a dedicated leather room.

Aqua Vitae? idk maybe it's just me, but alcohol soaked bandages go hard especially during the fight with the chapter 1 location boss, but also during temporal storms when I've taken one to many hits from a nightmare drifter up the back end.

Came here to say this. Glad to see it brought up. The charcoal gnomes actually steal the firewood from the pit before you light it just to make sure it burns incorrectly. I've seen it happen.

Enjoy your movement speed penalty. Is that iron or steel? I have never actually made plate armor before and usually defer to chainmail or brigandine just for the mobility they provide over Plate. I also play hunter so ranged accuracy is a must for me.

Unfortunately by the time I got to this thread it had already gotten blown up by others who wanted to do that. I think there are improvements to be made, but without knowing where the rest of the story is going to go, it's hard to say what exactly would even be appropriate. Several things have been discussed and I think there was even a compromise to be made at one point that suggested just a zone of safety around the player where nothing could spawn at all. Most everything else I have seen is just arguing semantics or suggestions that I think might fit better as mods so that people can pick and choose their preferred experience.

Well you were the one that asked. I'm not sure what you expected from this. Then if the only thing that the ads mention is the only thing that's important to the game, then how do you rationalize that movie trailers often do not spoil the entire plot? You say you're not going to engage, but you keep coming back here with more of the same stuff to say. I don't know what you are expecting from any of this. My take on this is that it's a prototype system. They knew something had to be there to support something else. So they added it. Now we have seen that systems they put into place don't always stay the same, for example smithing and more recently berry bushes. They also completely overhauled the way you get fish to the point that fishing is actually fun and not the chore that it can be with some mods that I've played with that tried to make fishing "better" or more reliable. In this case, they knew something had to be there to support the story part of Vintage Story. So it was added ahead of time. No one knew why. Then they added chapters 1 and 2 and lo and behold, it started to make sense. These things were added as story mechanics to tell the tale that this game is trying to tell in 8 chapters, that have apparently already been written. So I think it's fair to say that the devs probably do have interest in improving them, but until something in the story shifts to warrant a drastic change, it's probably going to be relegated to the Polish and Rework portion of the roadmap. Read above. You have mentioned at least twice that you no longer wish to engage with the subjective side of this, which is fair, but I and others have explained how these systems are objectively tied to the game's "uncompromising" core. Chapters 1 and 2 already tie the temporal mechanics directly into the story and world building. The rifts, storms, and stability aren’t just random gameplay systems, they exist because of what happened to the world. That’s why people know they are crucial to the game and story, without any dev explanation needed here, that is clear to see. At this point it comes down to whether you accept the accounts of others regarding the story chapters and the relevance of the game mechanics explained there. If you have played them and somehow reached a conclusion that contradicts the vast majority of people, it’s difficult to understand how that could be...

Honestly just hole up in the ground if you're not prepared for the first few storms and go make a sandwich or something.

Yes and it is. You must have the proper ingredients in the right ratios to make a meal and you can only cook up to 6 servings at a time which takes considerably more fuel now than it did before. And if you leave it in the cookpot and don't put it in a crock in your basement/cellar, then you run the risk of it spoiling in a couple of days. That's about as realistic as the game can get without allowing you to invent new foods...at which point you might as well just eat the raw ingredients and pretend it's a meal. I do recommend cooking the meat and mushrooms first at the very least. Some of the mushrooms get spicy now. Reveal spoiler for screenshot of upcoming mechanics. The point is even the simplest of game systems are uncompromising because they are designed with that in mind. BUT They can also be modded and expanded upon. Do you think that mods shouldn't be allowed in the game since that violates your understanding of the word uncompromising? EDIT: I will also add that the thread title said that temporal storms are a bad implementation of a good idea. To bring things back around to the initial discussion since we have gotten so far off track, I will say that I disagree that they are a bad implementation. They are a fair initial start, but as with all things, there probably is room for improvement. However the storms need to stay global and they need to remain an actual threat for pretty much any player regardless of whether they are just starting out or are 2-3 years into the game.

Oh whoops, my bad. Didn't realize it was only okay when you did it. Ignore what I said then.

GOOD Let's keep it that way.

Well... there is one... Sort of.

I would need to dial the mouse sensitivity up to what I had in WoW but I was pretty well practiced in flipping my camera 180 and pressing my hunter's disengage button to close non-combat gaps in raids. It can be done, it just needs to be practiced and... well... bears are HIGHLY unforgiving if you get it wrong. Plus it's been too long since I played WoW in any sort of capacity to call myself a raider again. Is this for real? I've never had to go out and fight, even in a heavy storm, but I choose to because of the off-chance that a Jonas part might drop! How long does it take in-game before the storms completely drain all stability?

I get that you're frustrated, but I think it's worth framing this as intentional humor rather than malice. When the player dies, Tyron gives them a choice: adapt and survive or rage quit. It's meant to be a funny jab. But at the same time it's also worth remembering that the game we're playing is the game that Tyron wants to play. Our opinions on whether it is good game design need to be put on hold until the story is complete, at the very least. As of right now, it's a work in progress and game mechanics are going to be designed around what he feels are engaging and less around what the community thinks is a polished work of art. Sure, no other game does what he's doing. But then, isn't that why we play his game rather than the others? As for the storms themselves, I think it's well established at this point that any existing mechanics that we have are either temporary, prototypes, or mostly implemented. Examples: rot beasts: I don't think drifters were ever supposed to be the only rotbeasts in the game. I think they are potentially placeholders for other rotbeast types. We have shivers and bowtorn now. Current mechanics surrounding crafting: We know that Tyron wants to leave behind the 3x3 crafting grid entirely in favor of a different kind of crafting method. It remains to be seen how he does this but smithing is a good example of a prototype system that is getting fleshed out more. Same for farming as it is somewhat getting extended to berry bushes soon. systems that are mostly implemented would be the major ones that involve the lore and story chapters. I think your argument of "on ramps" holds merit. A way for players to understand better how to interact with the game would see some use as more and more players join the game. However one of the fundamental tenets of game design is that you do not create your tutorial until the game is done. Otherwise you will spend too much time keeping your tutorial up to date that could be spend developing and polishing game mechanics. Tweaks of the existing systems are a good middle ground. I think we both agree on this, at least.

I think something like a protected radius around the player might be a good middle ground solution. Maybe something like 4-5 blocks radius where spawns are prevented during a storm. That would still allow enemies to appear nearby and keep the tension but it would stop the frustrating cases where things just pop into existence right inside your house or other building while you're just trying to do your thing. Think about how cramped the spaces are for the NPCs in the game. Perhaps they learned through trial and error what worked and what didn't and made adjustments.

Out of curiosity have you completed all the story chapters and read all the lorebooks? Not that I'm gatekeeping your opinions because you are certainly allowed to have them, but I am more curious just how deep you *have* dived into the lore for us to arrive at such opposite conclusions. EDIT: And I will say that perhaps a change to the storms is coming and if it does, it will be interesting to see how the devs improve upon it. I think they're fine the way they are now, not great, but just fine.

Yes you have stated that a few times now. Could you respond to the counterarguments that people make instead? I think that would help people understand you better instead of just repeating the same thing over and over.

So, you then? XD

The developer is the final authority over canon lore. In that sense it is immutable. But that does not mean discussion is pointless. It just means lore discussions will operate differently from mechanics discussions. Mechanics are systems that are designed to support the lore. They are tuned, balanced, iterated on, and frequently changed in response to player feedback. Spear damage, smithing loops, etc are all levers that can be adjusted as the devs get more experience with the systems they create. Lore on the other hand is world-framing. It establishes the tone, mystery, and thematic direction. When people say that it is written by an immutable god, then mean that canon facts are not democratically decided by a forum vote. No one argues with GRRM lest another one of their favorite characters get penned to death. The author decides. Period. Yet... Tyron leaves it open ended. He leaves the entire game available to be modded. He leaves it up to the player to decide a lot of things by only delivering fragments through ruins, lore books, and mysteries like the Thunderlord Dave and the general vibe of the environment. It invites interpretation, headcanon, and... even modding. So while the developer defines canon, the structure of the game is intentionally porous. To summarize: If lore were truly untouchable because it is 'written by an immutable god,' then discussion would be pointless. But Vintage Story's lore is intentionally fragmented and interpretive. It is designed to invite speculation, expansion, and even modification. The developer sets canon, yes. But the openness of that canon is part of the design. That makes discussion meaningful, not fallacious. And for what it's worth, temporal storm mechanics aren't the only part of the game where I will dig in my heels and resist changes because the lore doesn't support the kind of changes that people want. Halo? Call of Duty?? Without lore, those dissolve into "generic first person shooter with a single faction of bad guys". Without lore Vintage Story dissolves into "another block game with interesting crafting mechanics". That's not a soul, that's just the scaffolding used to support the story, a human body without personality. And it's not even just games, it's movies, too. Star Wars anyone? Pretty sure that was me? Or at least I sure thought it hard enough that someone read my mind and typed it. It also took centuries for the storms to weaken soooooooo... I'm pretty sure the 2-3 years the player spends in-game isn't going to have a significant effect on the duration or severity of the storms. The light storms at the beginning are the Sam's Club sampler, a wine tasting, the part where the player goes, "OH CRAP!" and whines about it on the forums and tries harder to be better prepared for it next time.

That might be cool. I'm not sure how it would affect the story pacing as currently you know nothing until you get to the chapter 1 location unless you manage to find a lore book or tapestry in a ruin somewhere. I can agree that the storms may need some adjustment, especially given how divided the playerbase is on them. However, I would argue that many of the players who dislike storms may be approaching VS as if it were a modded block game, rather than as a standalone title that simply shares similarities with other block games. There is some truth to this but I disagree with your conclusion. Yes, experienced players handle the storms better because they have experience. If you're expecting everything to be accessible without effort, then you are giving handouts which is fundamentally against the core design philosophies of VS. Experience lowers the friction in every system of every game. Farming, metallurgy, combat, food preservation, cave exploration, etc. All of those are significantly harder for someone who does not understand how the game works and storms are not unique in that regard. The difference is that storms compress the lessons to be learned into a short experience. A bad harvest teaches you slowly how to manage your farms better. A bad storm teaches you very quickly that you are woefully unprepared. But that does not mean that the temporal storm mechanic as a whole is inherently flawed. I new player getting caught in a death loop is not a flaw in the system, it is a flaw in the chosen path of gameplay. It is a signal that better, faster, and more thorough preparation is required and understanding in how it works is needed. Yet, you mention cocooning yourself in dirt as a cheese strat. That is still a player-driven solution. The game did not demand it. The handbook didn't mention it. Players just did it because they could. Player agency still exists even at the lower levels. As unfortunate as the T4 drifter one-shot experience is, it doesn't really happen all that often in the grand scheme of things. Yes it feels catastrophic. You are minding your own business and then the storm happens and bam you're dead with no way out. But that is also true of cave-ins, bear attacks or a temporal rift spawning on top of you because the game suddenly went from peaceful to cataclysmic in a breath. The game does not telegraph safety, it teaches caution and preparation. Shore up the walls before digging, get high ground before face-checking the bushes. Keep a high temporal stability so that a sudden rift doesn't mean death or worse. Veteran players aren't defending the storms because they know all the tricks to surviving them. We defend the storms because we approached them with the right mindset. I had a miserable experience in my first storm, but I survived despite a couple deaths and met the daylight with a grin on my face. That victory left me with a bloody nose and a crushed ego, but it was well earned. New players similarly having a rough first storm experience doesn't mean bad design. It just means they were unprepared.